A small independent company, from Worcester. According to 'Studio Sound' magazine of January 1974 Emmex was started by Wally Exall and Muff Murfin. In 1968 the two men began working together selling instruments and records in their Worcester Music Centre, which was located in the Russell & Dorrell store on the High Street; they also manufactured amplifiers, disco decks and other music-related items. They opened a studio in the basement under the showroom at the Music Centre in September 1973, using a four-track Scully machine bought from Ron Lee when his Birmingham-based studio upgraded to eight-track. The article said that the pair had been talent hunting in Worcester, and had been encouraging schools to make a record and have a few hundred copies pressed; local band C.M.J. - of which Murfin was a member - had already recorded a party album and an album of cover versions. Catalogue numbers were in an MM-100 series which reached at least MM-106, but the only two 7" Emmex records I've seen listed are the ones shown above: Wall Bowley's 'The Reason Why' b/w ' Oh My Mother In Law' (MM-103), and 'Christmas Is Coming' b/w 'Fly Away' by the Dines Green Junior School (MM-106). The C.M.J.'s album 'Studio Time With The C.M.J.' was on the Emmex label but had a catalogue number of MSRS-1386, which was taken from a series used by Midland Sound Recordings (q.v.) - presumably the album was made through that company. All three records date from 1974. Wall (actually 'Wal') Bowley was a professional musician for more than thirty years; after being a member of what was arguably Worcester's first Rock 'n' Roll Band, 'The Bush Boys', he went on to work solo, mainly as an organist / comedian. He also worked with Exall and Murfin at the Worcester Music Centre, selling and demonstrating keyboard instruments. The style of the matrix number of his single suggests that it was cut by Orlake - the various parts of it are separated by plus signs - but it doesn't look like an Orlake pressing; it bears a strong resemblance to several records manufactured by the Anglia Pressing Co, a plant associated with Yarmouth Recording Studios (q.v.). See 'Notch' and 'Coastal Music Studios' for other examples. Muff Murfin went on to set up the Old Smithy Studios, at Kempsey, later in the '70s; see the Birds Nest and Happy Face labels. Thanks to 7226power of the 45cat site for alerting me to the Dines Green single and for permission to use his scan here.
Copyright 2017 Robert Lyons.